The invention relates to the field of isoelectric focusing of charged molecules, and in particular the isoelectric focusing of proteins.

Preparative isoelectric focusing as a protein prefractionation procedure was proposed by Bier et al. (in: PEPTIDES: STRUCTURE AND BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS (Gross & Meienhofer, eds., pp.79-89, Pierce Chemical Co., Rockford, Ill., 1979) and a commercial version called Rotofor was produced by Bio-Rad (Hercules, CA, USA). It is built as a mtating chamber divided into 20 compartments and uses solution isoelectric focusing to fractionate samples. However, this apparatus has no separation barriers and is typically a low resolution technique with relatively large volumes for individual fractions. Righetti et al. ((1989) J. Chromatogr. 475, 293-309) described a multi-compartment electrolyser in which each compartment is separated by a polyacrylamide gel membrane with a specific pH. Immobilines are incorporated into the polyacrylamide membranes in the same way that they are to create pH gradients in immobilized pH gradient (IPG) gels. A commercial apparatus, called IsoPrime, incorporating this principle has been marketed (Hoefer Pharmacia, San Francisco, CA). The IsoPrime unit has been developed primarily for large scale purification of individual proteins starting with partially purified preparations, not for fractionation of crude extracts. The unit has large separation chambers connected to peristaltic pumps and external chambers to further expand the volumes of individual fractions (about 30 ml). While the IsoPrime unit can provide high quality separations, its large volume and design make it impractical for prefractionation of samples under denaturing conditions for proteome studies. A device for isoelectric focusing with small separation compartments (0.05 ml - 0.5 ml) is known from document WO 00/17631.

Prefractionation methods for proteome studies should improve the detection of minor proteins and increase the total number of protein components that can be identified (Quadroni et al. 1999; Williams (1999) Electrophoresis 20, 678-688).

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel method for the separation of proteins.

According to the invention there is provided a method according to claim 1.

This invention provides a novel small-scale solution isofocusing method that can reproducibly fractionate charged molecules into well-defined pools. This approach can be applied to more complex charged molecule samples, such as eukaryotic proteome samples where reproducible resolution and quantitation of >10,000 protein components is feasible.

• Fig. 1 Shows a schematic illustration of a solution isofocusing device, used in the examples.
• Fig. 2. Demonstrates the effects of increasing protein amounts on 2D PAGE separations of unfractionated E. coli extracts. Different amounts of sample were loaded to pH 4-7L immobilized pH gradient (IPG) strips by rehydration and samples were focused for 60 kVh followed by separation in 10% SDS-gels. Proteins were visualized using Coomassie blue staining. The pH range and location of molecular weight markers are indicated.
• Fig. 3. Shows the separation of unfractionated E. coli extracts on narrow pH range IPG-based 2D PAGE. Different amounts of sample were loaded to pH 4.8-62L IPG strips by rehydration and proteins were focused for 60 kVh followed by separation in 10% SDS-gels. Proteins were visualized using Coomassie blue staining.
• Fig. 4. Demonstrates the evaluation of samples prefractionated using an IPG gel. A 1.0 mg aliquot of E. coli extract was initially fractionated on a pH 4-7L IPG gel, the focused gel was cut into three sections and proteins were eluted. To check the effectiveness of the initial separation, eluted pools were rerun on pH 4-7L IPG gels for 60 kVh followed by separation in 10% SDS-PAGE gels. Proteins were visualized using Coomassie blue staining. The pH range of the section from the initial IPG gel that was eluted is indicated above each 2D gel by brackets on the pH scale.
• Fig. 5. Shows an evaluation of sample fractionation using solution isofocusing in a representative experiment. Samples from the three separation compartments and the proteins extracted from the separation membranes were evaluated by 2D PAGE after prefractionation of 3 mg of E. coli extract using solution isofocusing. One-third of each recovered sample (proportional to 1 mg of original sample) was separated using pH 4-7L IPG gels followed by separation in 10% SDS-gels. Proteins were visualized using Coomassie blue staining.
• Fig. 6. Shows a comparison of a composite 2D image from prefractionated samples with the 2D image of an unfractionated E. coli extract. (A) Composite 2D protein image produced by cutting and pasting the protein containing sections from the five gels shown in Figure 5. (B) A pH 4-7L 2D gel containing 1.0 mg of unfractionated E. coli extract. Proteins were visualized using Coomassie blue staining.
• Fig. 7 Demonstrates the effects of IPG strip pH ranges on protein resolution. Replicate pH 5-6 range samples (proportional to 1 mg of unfractionated E. coli extract), which were prefractionated using solution isofocusing, were focused using pH 3-1 0NL, 4-7L and 4.8-6.2L IPG strips, respectively, followed by separation in 10% SDS-gels. Proteins were visualized using Coomassie blue staining (upper panels) and autoradiography (lower panels). Spots were detected and counted using Melanie II software. These values and the effective separation distances for proteins with pI between 5 and 6 are shown above each 2D gel.
• Fig. 8. Demonstrates another isofocusing device of the invention. This device contains more separation compartments than the device of Figure 1 in order to cover the full pH range of most proteomes and to increase the total number of spots that should be detected. Each compartment has an access port for improved sample loading and removal.
• Fig. 9. Shows a schematic illustrating a method for global analysis of complex proteomes. The specific number of separation compartments and the pH's of the separation membranes can be adjusted to fit different conditions and sample properties. It should be feasible to optimize the pH ranges so that the full resolving capacity of each gel can be utilized. Since each full sized (18 cm X 20 cm) gel should be readily capable of resolving 2,000 to 3000 spots when a high sensitivity detection method is used, the illustrated scheme should be capable of resolving on the order of 10,000 to 15,000 protein spots when complex eukaryotic proteomes are analyzed.

Charged molecules, including proteins, can be separated using isoelectric focusing by virtue of their different net charges at a particular pH. The invention provides a novel device and method of isoelectric focusing charged molecules and is especially useful for the separation of a great number of charged molecules. The invention is particularly useful for two-dimensional electropboretic separations of proteins.

The invention comprises a chamber for holding liquid. As shown in Fig. 1, a membrane permeable to small ions is located at a first end of the chamber (110). Another membrane permeable to small ions is located at a second end of the chamber (120), opposite of the first end of the chamber. Gel membrane partitions (130, 140, 150, 160) are positioned along the chamber (100) to define a plurality of compartments (170, 180, 190, 200, 210) within the chamber (100). The gel membrane partitions (130, 140, 150, 160) are fitted into the chamber (100) with a seal (220).

Optionally, the gel membrane partition (130) adjacent to the membrane permeable to small ions (110) at the first end of the chamber and the gel membrane partition (160) adjacent to the membrane permeable to small ions (120) at the second end of the chamber comprise a higher percentage of acrylamide than the remaining gel membrane partitions. The compartment formed by the membrane permeable to small ions at the first end of the chamber (110) and the adjacent gel membrane (130) is a terminal separation compartment (170) and is filled with anode buffer. Further, the compartment formed by the membrane permeable to small ions (120) at the second end of the chamber and the adjacent gel membrane (160) is a terminal separation compartment (210) and is filled with cathode buffer.

A chamber can comprise any suitable material for holding a liquid, for example, teflon or plastic. The chamber comprises a membrane permeable to small ions at a first end of the chamber and at a second end of the chamber, opposite of the first end. The membrane provides protection for the compartments within the chamber and forms a partition. The membrane also prevents proteins with pI's beyond the pH range of the separation compartments from migrating out into the electrophoresis tank. An example of a useful membrane is a dialysis membrane. A dialysis membrane can have a molecular weight cut-off of, for example, at least 1, 5, 10, or 30kDa; however, the use of dialysis membranes with any molecular weight cut-off is contemplated by the invention.

The chamber is divided into separation compartments by gel membrane partitions. Preferably, the gel membrane partitions comprise acrylamide or polyacrylamide. The concentration of acrylamide in gels is stated generally in terms of %T (the total percentage of acrylamide in the gel by weight) and %C (the proportion of the total acrylamide that is accounted for by the crosslinker used). N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide ("bis") is an example of a crosslinker that can be used. Preferably, a gel membrane partition has a large pore size that does not obstruct the movement of charged molecules through or within the gel membrane partition. One of skill in the art can use only routine experimentation to construct a gel membrane partition comprising a suitable %T and %C. Useful gel membrane partitions can comprise at least 1, 3, 10, 15, or 25%T and at least 1, 5, 8, 15, or 25% C.

Optionally, a gel membrane partition adjacent to the first end of the chamber, i.e., adjacent to the membrane which is permeable to small ions, and the gel membrane partition adjacent to the second end of the chamber, i.e., adjacent to the second membrane permeable to small ions, comprise a higher percentage of acrylamide than any other gel membrane partitions in the chamber. The compartment formed by such a higher percentage acrylamide gel membrane partition and membrane permeable to small ions is termed a terminal compartment.

Preferably, each gel membrane partition comprises a pH different from any other gel membrane partition within a chamber. A gel membrane partition can comprise any pH suitable for the separation of charged molecules. Even more preferably, each gel membrane partition comprises a different pH such that a range of pH's are represented by the gel membrane partitions in the chamber. One of skill in the art can select gel membranes partitions representing a range of pH's that would be useful to fractionate a particular set of charged molecules. Where the gel membrane partitions each comprise a different pH, the gel membrane partitions are preferably arranged from lowest to highest pH within a chamber. The pH of a gel can be adjusted to the desired pH using molecules with a strong buffering capacity, for example, immobilines (Fluka, Milwaukee, WI).

A gel membrane partition can be, for example, at least 0.1 to 5mm thick, preferably a gel membrane partition is at least 0.5 to 2mm thick, even more preferably a gel membrane partition is at least 0.9-1.2 mm thick. The area of a gel membrane partition can be at least 10 mm, 100mm, 250mm, 500mm, or more. A gel membrane partition can comprise any shape that will fit within a chamber, for example, a square or a circle. Any number of gel membrane partitions can be used in the chamber to form any number of compartments within the chamber. For example, at least 1, 4, 10, 50, 100, or more gel membrane partitions can occur in a chamber to form at least 2, 5, 11, 51, 101, or more compartments.

A gel membrane partition can be mechanically strengthened by embedding a highly porous matrix within the gel membrane partition. For example, non-glass fiber filters or glass fiber filters, such as Whatman GF/D glass fiber filters can be used to strengthen a gel membrane partition.

A gel membrane partition is sealed into a chamber of the invention so that no leakage of liquid or current occurs between the compartments formed by gel membrane partitions. A gel membrane partition can be, for example, fitted into an O-ring or encircled with rubber tubing such that a seal is formed between the O-ring or tubing and the chamber. Alternatively, the gel membrane partition can be cast within a gasket comprising a suitable material, such as a teflon or polypropylene. The gasket comprising a gel membrane partition is fitted into the chamber such that a seal is formed between the gasket and the chamber.

The volume of liquid held by each compartment of the chamber is less than 5ml. Even more preferably, the volume of the liquid held by each compartment is less than 4ml, 1ml, or 0.1ml.

Optionally, each compartment of the chamber can comprise an access port, which can be used to insert or extract liquid from each individual compartment. Preferably, the port allows a syringe or pipette tip access to a compartment such that liquid can be added to or removed from each compartment.

Optionally, the chamber can be agitated to provide for movement of liquid within the compartments. The chamber can be agitated by, for example, a magnetic stirrer or by rotating the chamber in a circular fashion.

A chamber as disclosed above can be used to separate charged molecules. The charged molecules migrate under an applied electric current through the chamber until the charged molecule enters a region of the chamber, i.e., a compartment or a gel membrane partition, where the charged molecule has a net charge of zero, i.e., at the charged molecule's isoelectric point. The charged molecules can be a mixture of at least 10, 50, 1,000, 15,000, or more molecules. Preferably, the charged molecules are proteins, even more preferably the charged molecules are prokaryotic or eukaryotic proteomes. A proteome can comprise at least 1,000, 10,000, 15,000, or more protein components.

Any preparation of charged molecules can be separated by the device and method of the invention. Protein samples can be crude or can be partially purified. For example, protein samples can be 25, 50, 75, 90, or 95% purified. A protein sample can also be denatured or in native conformation. Eukaryotic or prokaryotic samples can be can be prepared, for example, by obtaining a population of prokaryotic cells or eukaryotic cells from, for example, cell culture or a tissue sample, and lysing the cells by procedures well known in the art. For example, cells can be pelleted and resuspended in lysis buffer followed by, for example, sonication of the cells. See e.g., Ausubel et al (1994) CURRENT PROTOCOLS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, (Greene Publishing Associates and John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY), and Sambrook et al. (1989), MOLECULAR CLONING: A LABORATORY MANUAL, 2nd ed. (Cold Spring Harbor Press, Cold Spring Harbor, New York). After sonication, the cell lysate can be centrifuged and treated with SDS. The amount of protein in a sample can be determined using, for example a BCA protein assay (Pierce Chemical Co. Rockford, IL, USA). The samples can be further treated with DNase/RNase (Harper et al., 1995).

A charged molecule sample is solubilized in IPG sample buffer and added to at least one separation compartment. Preferably, the sample in IPG buffer is divided equally by the number of separation compartments and placed into each of the compartments such that each separation compartment is filled. Where the sample is a protein or mixture of proteins, 0.01, 1, 5, 10, or 50 mg of protein can be loaded into each separation compartment. If a chamber comprises terminal separation compartments, these compartments are filled with IEF anode and cathode electrode buffers. These buffers can be made by one of skill in the art and are also commercially available (BioRad).

The filled chamber can be placed into an electrophoresis tank and each of the two compartments of the tank filled with anode and cathode buffers. A power supply can be attached to the electrophoresis tank and voltage applied until the current drops to low levels indicating that equilibrium has been reached as is known in the art. Typically, at least 25,100, 500, 1,000, or 2,000 V can be used for 1,12, 24, or 48 hours. Optionally, the voltage can be adjusted throughout the focusing until the current drops to low levels.

A fractionated sample is removed from each separation compartment In order to recover a greater portion of the fractionated sample, the surfaces of the gel membranes and the inside walls of the separation compartments can be rinsed with a small amount of a sample buffer and the rinse combined with the fractionated samples. Even greater recovery of the fractionated sample can be accomplished by removing each gel membrane partition from the chamber and extracting any charged molecules from the gel. These extracted charged molecules can be combined with a fractionated sample, most preferably a fractionated sample that was recovered from a compartment on either side of the particular gel membrane partition that was extracted. Additionally, charged molecules can be recovered from the terminal separation compartments, if present, and combined with the fractionated sample derived from the compartment adjacent to the terminal separation chamber. Preferably, 50, 80, 95, or 100% of the proteins or charged molecules added to the chamber are recovered as fractionated samples.

Once the sample is fractionated it can be, for example, subjected to SDS PAGE. Alternatively, replicate fractionated samples prepared using solution isofocusing can be separated on different pH range IPG strips followed by SDS PAGE. See Fig. 9.

The following are provided of exemplification purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention described in broad terms above.

Varying numbers of teflon dialysis compartments with 500 µl volumes (Amika Corp, Columbia, MD, USA) were connected in tandem to construct the novel solution isofocusing device used in the following examples. As shown in Fig. 1 this device has three adjacent separation compartments that were separated by 3% acrylamide gel membrane partitions containing immobilines at the desired pH's. Terminal separation compartments had 10% acrylamide gel membrane partitions with appropriate immobilines. The terminal separation compartments were filled with anode or cathode buffers and were protected from the electrode buffers by 5 kDa dialysis membranes.

Immobiline gels were cast in different concentrations and thicknesses and with several alternative supports for strength. Typically, Whatman GF/D glass fiber filters were imbedded in the gels for mechanical strength using a BioRad mini-gel plate with 1 mm spacers to cast the gels. Gel solutions were prepared as described in Tables 1 and 2. The 25 ml gel solution volume was sufficient for casting two slab gels (1 mm x 7 cm x 10 cm). After the gel was polymerized at 60 °C for about 1.5 hour, 12 mm diameter gel membrane discs were excised from the slab gel using a stainless steel core borer. These gel membrane discs were washed three times with 1 ml of Milli-Q water for 1 h per rinse and soaked in the IPG sample buffer for at least 30 min before use. Unused membranes could be stored in the buffer at 4 °C for up to 3 weeks without affecting the effectiveness of sample prefractionation. Immobilines pH 3.5 pH 5.0 pH 6.0 pH 9.5 pK 3.6 299 µl 158 µl 410 µl pK 4.6 223 µl 863 µl 863 µl pK 6.2 157 µl 863 µl 803 µl pK 9.3 338 µl 694 µl Water (up to) 7.5 ml 7.5 ml 7.5 ml 7.5 ml The mixture should be within 0.05 pH units of the desired pH. If not, the pH should be adjusted using immobilines. 3%T/8%C gel 10%T/8%C gel Immobiline mixture 7.5 ml 7.5 ml AcrylamideBis (30%T/8%C) 2.5 ml 8.33 ml Glycerin (87%) 3.45 ml 3.45 ml Ammonium persulfate (40%) 25 µl 25 µl TEMED 15 µl 15 µl Water (up to) 25 ml 25 ml

A solution isofocusing method was developed and used to separate charged molecules such as a protein extract in tandem small volume liquid-filled compartments separated by thin porous acrylamide gel membranes containing immobilines at specific pH's. A schematic illustration of the prototype device is given in Figure 1. Teflon dialysis compartments with 500 µl volumes from Amika Corp (Columbia, MD, USA) were used. The unit consists of five compartments and four gel membranes having pH values 3.5, 5.0, 6.0 and 9.5, respectively. Adjacent.separation compartments were divided by 1 mm thick 3% acrylamide gel membranes containing immobilines at the desired pH's. Terminal separation compartments used immobiline gel membranes with 10% acrylamide and these compartments were protected from electrode solutions by dialysis membranes (5 kDa cut-off, Amika Corp). O-rings (12 mm) were used between compartments to assist sealing of gel membranes and compartments by placing an appropriate gel membrane inside an O-ring before the tandem compartments were assembled.

An E. coli extract (3 mg) was solubilized in 1.5 ml of IPG sample buffer and divided among the three separation compartments. The terminal separation compartments were filled with BioRad pre-made IEF electrode buffers, 7 mM phosphoric acid (anode) and 20 mM lysine/20 mM arginine (cathode). The assembled compartments were placed into the electrophoresis tank (Amika Corp) and the two compartments of the tank were filled with anode and cathode electrode buffers, respectively. A PS500X power supply (Hoefer Scientific Instruments, San Francisco, CA, USA) was used for focusing the sample. Typically, 100 V was used for 1h (initial ∼2-3 mA, final ∼1 mA), followed by 200 V for 1 h (initial ∼2-3 mA, final ∼1 mA), and then 500 V (initial ∼3-4 mA) until the current fell to 0 mA (about 1.5 h). After fractionated samples (each ∼500 µl) were removed, the surfaces of gel membranes and inside walls of the separation compartments were rinsed with 500 µl of the sample buffer and these rinses were combined with the fractionated samples. The gel membranes were removed and extracted twice with 500 µl sample buffer for 1 h each to elute proteins from the gel matrix. To evaluate the effectiveness of this prefractionation method, one-third of each fractionated sample, which was proportional to 1.0 mg of the original sample, was separated on a pH 4-7L IPG-based 2D PAGE (Fig. 5). These results showed that the cell extracts were well separated into three discrete pools and only a few overlapping spots were found in the pH 3.5-5.0 and 6.0-9.5 fractions. Only a few proteins were eluted from the separation membranes and most of them had pI's close to the membrane pH (± 0.1) (Fig. 5).

A composite image (Fig. 6 A) of the five individual gels shown in Figure 5 can be compared to a 2D gel separation of 1.0 mg E. coli extract without prefractionation (Fig. 6 B). The composite image showed that most protein spots in an unfractionated sample were recovered with good yield in prefractionated samples and resolution was improved (Fig. 6 A). Specifically, the total spots in the 2D gel without prefractionation was 545 (Fig. 6 B) compared with 610 spots (Fig. 6 A) in the prefractionated composite image. More importantly, no horizontal streaking of proteins was observed on the composite image with the prefractionated samples (Fig. 6 A), while substantial streaking occurred on the gel with the unfractionated sample (Fig. 6 B).

Total protein recovery of the three solution focused fractions was 65% in these experiments. Another 20% of the total sample proteins was associated with the four gel membranes. About three-quarters of the proteins retained in the membranes could be readily extracted and combined with an adjacent fraction to increase overall yield to about 80%. Finally, about 5% of the total sample was found in the two terminal separation compartments since a small proportion of proteins in the E. coli had pI's outside the pH 3.5-9.5 range of the separation compartments used in these experiments. Most of these proteins could be recovered by modifying the experimental design to cover a wider overall pH range if desired. Hence, these experiments demonstrated that this novel device and solution isofocusing technique can rapidly separate complex protein mixtures into a small number of discrete well-defined pools in very high yield (>80%) for subsequent separation on parallel slightly overlapping narrow pH gradient gels.

The solution isofocusing method and device of the invention is much better than eluting proteins from sections of focused IPG gels for prefractionation of samples. Although eluting proteins from a focused IPG gel can result in reasonably well separated fractions, more than 50% of the sample was lost and not all protein spots in the original sample could be recovered after prefractionation (compare Fig. 4 with Fig. 2). In contrast, prefractionation using the method and device of the invention results in a higher yield (∼80%) and more importantly, most protein spots in the original sample can be recovered (Fig. 6). Initial isofocusing in solution minimizes non-ideal behavior of proteins (precipitation/aggregation) encountered if samples are applied to narrow pH IPG gels without prefractionation (Fig. 3). The fractionated proteins exhibit good solubility when applied to narrow pH range IPG gels, which results in better resolution and more spots detected (Figs. 5, 6 A) compared to direct 2D PAGE without prefractionation (Figs. 5, 6, 7). Prefractionation using the method and device of the invention is relatively fast (less than 4 h), requires only a simple, easy-to-use device, and yields well-separated fractions that can be applied directly to subsequent narrow pH IPG strips.

In an initial test of solution isofocusing, 5% gels were used for the separation membranes and 10% gels for the electrode membranes, as suggested for most applications of the IsoPrime method (Righetti et al. 1989; Righetti, et al. (1990) J. Chromatogr. 500, 681-696; Wenisch et al. (1992) Electrophoresis 13, 668-673; Amersham Phamacia biotech 1999). However, when 1 mm 5% gels were used for separation membranes, many higher molecular weight proteins with pI's not equal to the membrane pH precipitated on the gel matrix, thus resulting in a low overall yield (only ∼40%) of fractionated samples and poor separation. When the 5% gels were replaced with 3% gels as separation membranes, the yield and separation of factions were improved, and typically only proteins with pI's equal to the membrane pH were retained in the 3% gel matrix (see Fig. 5). These results suggest that even lower gel densities and thinner gel dimensions can be beneficial if the mechanical strength is maintained to prevent membrane rupture during isofocusing. Also, we stored gel membranes at 4 °C for up to 3 weeks without affecting performance. Longer term storage is feasible if the membranes are dried and frozen for storage similar to the method used to produce commercial IPG strips. The presence of 2% ampholytes in the solution IEF is advantageous, otherwise current during the electrophoresis is too low to effectively focus the sample. The 2 M thiourea/7 M urea present in the sample buffer is superior to 9 M urea alone for solubilizing sample proteins (Rabilloud et al. (1997) Electrophoresis 18, 307-316).

The simple solution isofocusing device (Fig. 4) used in this example had three separation compartments and covered the pH 3.5-9.5 range, where most protein spots occurred in the tested sample used. Another device is schematically illustrated in Figure 8. The larger number of compartments and wider pH range will be appropriate for comprehensive or global analyses of complex eukaryotic proteomes. Each compartment has a fill port for more convenient loading and removal of samples. The volumes of separation compartments can be adjusted to fit experimental design such that fractionated sample volumes match the IPG gel rehydration volumes for the number of replicate 2D gels desired. In accordance with the invention, the total number of separation compartments and the pH's of divider gel membranes is altered to fit requirements of specific proteome studies.

A strategy for using the isofocusing device for global analysis of eukaryotic proteomes is illustrated in Figure 9. Prior to 2D gel electrophoresis, a complex sample is fractionated into approximately five pools by solution isofocusing. The pH ranges of each pool should be selected so that similar numbers of spots are obtained on each subsequent 2D gel. For example, in the illustrated scheme the pH 5-6 range has been divided into 0.5 pH units increments since the largest proportion of proteins in eukaryotic proteomes fall in this pH range. As described above proteins with pI's equal to the separation gel membranes are retained in the gel matrix and can be recovered in reasonable yields by extraction with a small volume of sample buffer. The proteins eluted from the gel membranes can then be combined with the adjacent solution fraction to minimize sample losses at these boundaries. Fractionated samples are then loaded onto narrow pH range gels that are 0.1 pH unit wider than the flanking gel membranes. It should be noted that we used gels that where ± 0.2 pH units wider than the solution pools, but the accuracy of the pI's from these pools was sufficiently precise that ± 0.2 pH units wider gels can be adequate. Parallel SDS-gels are used for second-dimension separation electrophoresis. The ability to increase the protein load per narrow pH range gel using prefractionated samples compared with unfractionated samples will improve the dynamic range of the global proteome analysis by permitting detection of less abundant spots for any given detection method and by increasing separation distances between minor components and major components. In addition, the prefractionation step more efficiently utilizes samples available in limited amounts compared with analysis of unfractionated samples on narrow pH range gels. Since each narrow pH range gel has the capacity to resolve approximate 2,000 to 3,000 protein components, the scheme showed here with separation of a sample into five fractions to be loaded onto five overlapping narrow pH range gels results in a robust method for reliably detecting at least 10,000-15,000 protein components.

The feasibility of using narrow pH gradient gels with prefractionated samples described above was evaluated. Replicate fractionated samples (pH 5-6) prepared using solution isofocusing were separated on different pH range IPG strips (pH 3-10NL, 4-7L and 4.8-6.2L) followed by SDS-PAGE (Fig. 7). The protein spots in the 2D gels were found only within the pH 5 to 6 range regardless of IPG gel pH ranges or detection methods used. These results verify that the components in the pH 5-6 fractionated sample were well resolved from other pH fractions with no detectable cross-contamination of proteins after the prefractionation step even when the more sensitive autoradiography detection method was used (Fig. 7). The advantage of using narrow pH gradient gels with sample prefractionation was clearly demonstrated by the improved resolution of a fractionated pool on narrow pH range gels. Specifically, about twice as many protein spots were detected on an 18 cm pH 4.8-6.2 L gel compared with a pH 3-10NL gel with either Coomassie Blue detection (355 spots vs. 187 spots) or the more sensitive autoradiographic detection (543 spots vs. 281 spots).

The advantages of prefractionation are further illustrated by comparing the 2D gels using pH 4.8-6.2L IPG strips to the 2D PAGE analysis of unfractionated samples using the same narrow pH range (Fig. 3). No horizontal streaking of proteins was observed on the 2D gel with prefractionation (Fig. 7), but substantial horizontal streaking occurred on 2D gels loaded with unfractionated samples (Fig. 3). Apparently, prefractionation using solution isofocusing eliminates interfering components with pI's beyond the pH range of a given narrow IPG gel which otherwise may precipitate or aggregate in the gel. Hence, the prefractionation step results in overall load capacity increases over alternative 2D PAGE methods such as direct use of parallel narrow pH range gels without prefractionation. Increased sample loads without precipitation or aggregation using this system should improve reliability of quantitative comparisons, increase the number of spots that can be resolved and allow detection of lower abundance spots. Finally, prefractionation more effectively utilizes samples that are available in limited amounts compared with replicate application of unfractionated samples to multiple different narrow pH range gels.